ALMOST became a tube convert

The saga continues - I nosed around and discovered that Dynaco MK IV amps were skinny enough to go behind my entertainment center, so I decided to try and pick some up. Unfortunately, they are tough to find and so I needed some patience - found a single on Ebay, bid, but it got pricey so I stopped bidding. Lo and behold, a keen observer saw my bid and emailed me off the books about a stock pair with no mods in excellent shape minus tubes with a decent price - I sez sure, if you can get them tested and run with a load for an hour or so (thanks for the tip, Steve) and with a guarantee that I could return if not as described. Sure said the seller; I then waited a few weeks, and actually rounded up some nice NOS tubes (7199's, 5AR4's, Siemens EL-34's - hey, I'm gonna do this right). Still no response, so yesterday I email and seller says "oops, I forgot, I sold them to somebody else!" GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.............................

 

Indy Mike,

Sorry to hear about your situation. My advice is NEVER make an off-the-book purchase or sale on eBay. There are people who specifically search out the second-highest bidder in order to make these types of deals. Thing is you have NO legal recourse. So, if something goes wrong, or they can get a higher price from someone else...too bad so sad, you can't say anything about it. Good luck.

 

Hi, I'd actually purchased from the seller before (train stuff, very accurately graded), so I wasn't too worried about that aspect. Yep, you do hafta be careful on such transactions - buyer beware...

 

Oh, crap Mike. Well, Mk IV's are really incredible, or you can get a decent St70 from either ebay or Audiogon.

That's where I got my Rotel Pre. Have you asked in Audiogon where it says "wanted to buy"? Believe it or not, there are a lot of Dynaco hordes in there and they will sell for a good price. Try?

 

Well, I'd love a St-70 but I've got such a narrow spot I can safely keep those hot tubes from my little guy's paws that I need the skinny chassis; I also like the dual mono nature of the MK IV's... I'll give audiogon a try - thanks!